Rugby player Hopoate setting a fine example with mission

WHEN William Hopoate is confronted with a media scrum he shifts awkwardly, clearly out of his comfort zone.

But thrust him in front of packed church pews to speak about his faith, and it's a completely different story. Next year, the quietly-spoken Manly winger will walk away from the riches of the NRL to embark on a two-year Mormon mission.

Having broken into Origin this year, and his team in premiership contention, the sacrifice is immense. But the 19-year-old justifies his decision with one simple sentence - two years of service for an eternity of blessings.
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''That sounds like a pretty good deal to me,'' Hopoate told the gathering at Canberra's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Wednesday. He was speaking as part of a seminar on the influence families have on sportspeople's careers.